Orchard or like heater



April 9, 1946. c. E. WALLIS l2,398,168

E ORCHARD OR LIKE HEATER Filed March 1, 1941 flal, 1

INVENTOR Charlesl. PI/ZZZZIS Patente-d Apr. 9, 1946 ORCHARD OR LIKE HEATER Charles E. Wallis, Wheeling, W. Va., assignor to Wheeling Steel Corporation, Wheeling, W. Va., a corporation of Delaware Application March 1, 1941, Serial No. 381,310

2 Claims.

This invention relates to orchard or like heaters. Heaters of the type concerned with are employed in orchards, fields, Warehouses, etc., to supply suincient heat to prevent fruit and other crops and wares from being detrimentally affected by cold weather.

Heaters of the type in question are designed to burn cheap fuel and to give off a substantial amount of heat in a generally upward and outward direction. Such heaters are used in very large quantities in orange and grapefruit groves in Florida to carry the ripening fruit through unseasonable cold snaps. The heaters are spaced fairly close together and forty or more may be used for each acre of orchard land.

The heaters are subjected to the elements when in use, which may be only a few days orkweeks in a year, and when not in use they may be left out in the open either in the same positions as when in use or some out of the way place. The heaters must be strong and rugged enough to withstand the handling to which they are subjected and the action of the elements and they must be sufciently eflicient in operation to perform the desired heating function. Above all, however, they must be of low cost since they are used in great'l numbers and represent a substantial investment.

I provide an orchard or like heater which is strong and durable and eicient in use even when burning low grade fuel oil, yet which is extremely simple and inexpensive in construction. It has certain novel features which contribute to its long life and to eicient operation. I provide a receptacle and a cover therefor, the cover being pivotally or swivelly mounted eccentrically of the receptacle so that it may be swung to vary the opening of the receptacle. The receptacle is intended primarily for burning low grade fuel oil, although other fuels may be used in it. The sides of the receptacle preferably taper or are upwardly and outwardly, which I find to have a considerable advantage when burning oil as the generally upwardly rising flames do not appear to have such a detrimental effect upon the side walls of the receptacle as when such walls are made vertical. The cover preferably has a peripheral downward extension adapted when it is positioned concentrically with respect to theV receptacle to embrace the receptacle rim. When the cover is in this position the receptacle is substantially closed and insufficient air can enter to support combustion of the fuel. Consequently, the heater may be extinguished simply by closing the cover.

The cover is intended normally to rest upon the receptacle and to be moved pivotally about its eccentric pivotal connection with the receptacle to assume predetermined positions to provide desired openings. Preferably one of the receptacle and cover is provided with a generally vertically extending pin and the other thereof is provided with an opening receiving the pin to provide for pivotal movement of the cover on the receptacle. Preferably one of the cover and receptacle has a sheet metal sleeve to receive the pin which is carried by the other. Indeed I nd it desirable to make the entire receptacle and cover of sheet metal and I find' galvanized iron to be the most suitable material, although other materials may be employed.

One of the features of my preferred structure is that by reason of the peculiar shape of the cover a controlled draft may pass through the heater to promote combustion to a desired extent. 'Ihe wider open the cover is the more air can enter. While some air may enter through the top opening, air enters between the rim` of the receptacle and the `cover where the cover overlies the rim. This entry of air is permitted because the downward extension of the cover rests on the rim so that air may pass inwardly beneath the portion of the cover offset from the receptacle and through the space between the top or body portion of the cover and the rim. Thus a natural draft is created of air entering over the rim of the receptacle where the cover overlies the rimwhen in partly open position, the air passing generally transversely of the receptacle and out the top opening where the cover does not overlievthe receptacle. Itis found that by adjusting the cover to a desired opening the draft may be nicely controlled and the amount of heat given off may be correspondingly controlled. Y

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of an orchard heater showing the cover in somewhat open position;

Figure 2 is a View partly in elevation and partly in central vertical cross section through the heater shown in Figure 1 but with the lcover` closed; Y

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the heater with the Cover somewhat-open as shown in Figure 1 and taken on the line III-III of that figure;

Figure 4 is a detail horizontal cross-sectional view to enlarged scale showing the pivotal or swivel connection between the receptacle and the cover; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the pivot bracket which is attached to the cover in the structure shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, there is shown a receptacle 2 and a cover 3 therefor. Each of the receptacle and cover is preferably made of galvanized sheet iron. The receptacle may be somewhat of the nature of a tub, having a bottom 4 permanently seamed to a side wall 5. The side wall 5 is tapered or flared upwardly and outwardly, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, and terminates in a rim 6 of the usual false wire construction. The side wall 5 is preferably reinforced by peripheral corrugations l and the bottom 4 is preferably reinforced by concentric corrugations 4a. In the structure shown both the receptacle and the cover are of circular form.

The cover 3 comprises a body portion 8 which is substantially hat having a peripheral downward extension 9 shown as terminating in a radially outwardly extending flange I having a bead II at its peripheral edge. The cover is of such size that when it is positioned concentrically over the receptacle 2 the peripheral downward extension 9 substantially embraces the rim 6. This allows the body portion 8 of the cover to rest largely directly upon the rim 6 when the cover is in closed position, thus substantially closing the receptacle so that insuilicient air can enter it to support combustion within.

Fastened to the outside of the side wall of the receptacle 2 is a strap I2 of sheet metal formed to provide a sleeve or eye I3 extending substantially vertically. Fastened to the under surface of the body portion 8 of the cover 3 within the downward extension 9 is a bracket I4 having a downwardly projecting pin I5 adapted to enter the sleeve I3, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, whereby swivelling or rotational movement of the cover relatively to the receptacle about the axis of the pin and sleeve is provided for.

The cover is shown in Figure 2 in closed position to substantially exclude air from the receptacle. In Figures 1 and 3 it is shown in partially open position, providing a top opening I6 where the cover does not overlie the receptacle. When the cover is in partially open position, as shown, for example, in Figures 1 and 3, the lower extremity of the downward extension 9 or the under surface of the flange I0 or bead I I yrests upon the receptacle rim 6, thus spacing the body portion 8 of the cover above the rim B. This allows air to enter the receptacle through the space between the rim 6 and the body portion 8 of the cover where the cover overlies the rim. The receptacle is filled to a desired depth with fuel, preferably low grade oil, as indicated at I1 in Figure 3, and the cover is opened a predetermined amount. This allows a draft of air to pass through the receptacle, entering between the cover and the receptacle rim where the cover overlies the rim, as indicated by the arrow A in Figure 3, and passing out through the upward opening I6. Some air may also enter through the opening I6, depending upon the extent to which the cover is open and the motion of the surroundingair.

I nd that by regulating the opening of the cover I can provide for a desirably controlled CFI ' the receptacle rim 6.

heat from the heater. To extinguish the heater it is merely necessary to move the cover to closed position as shown in Figure 2. This substantially shuts olf the supply of air to the interior of the receptacle 2 and the flame is extinguished. I nd that by reason of the upwardly and outwardly flared side wall the flame, shown diagrammatically at I8 in Figure 3, does not tend to deteriorate the side wall to as great an extent as when a vertical side wall is employed. The heater is desirably strong and rugged in construction, easy to handle, move about and set up and is of exceptionally low cost considering its other advantages. It is adapted for quantity production. It is found to afford desirable heating eiiiciency even with low grade oil.

As above stated and as shown in Figure 2, the bracket I4 carrying the pin I5 is fastened t0 the under surface of the body portion 8 of the cover 3 within the downward extension 9. This results in the cover being very slightly eccentric to the receptacle 2 when in closed position since the upper portion of the pin I5 lies horizontally between the downward extension 9 of the cover and the rim 6 of the receptacle. However, the cover may to all intents and purposes be considered as concentric with the receptacle when in closed position. Also since the bracket I4 overlies the rim 6 and underlies the body portion 8 of the cover, the body portion 8 of the cover in the region of the bracket I4 is spaced above the top of the rim 6 a distance approximately equal to the vertical dimension of the bracket I4 at the point in question. This creates a slight crack between the rim 6 and the body portion 8 of the cover adjacent the bracket I4 even when the cover is closed, but this crack is not large enough to admit sufficient air to support combustion within the heater.

In Figure 3 the cover is indicated asbeing perfectly stiff so that when it is in open position it lies exactly in a plane parallel to the plane of Ordinarily the cover will not be perfectly stiff but will sag .somewhat between the portions of the bead II which rest upon the rim 6. In certain positions of the cover the sagging may be sufficient that the body portion 8 of the cover will touch the rim 6 intermediate the portions of the bead II which rest upon such rim. However, I find that this does not seriously interfere with the admission of the desired amount of air as indicated by the arrow A in Figure 3.

As will be noted from Figure 3, the flames designated by reference numeral I8 rise upwardly and extend somewhat laterally toward the opening I6. Due to the fact that the side wall of the receptacle is tapered or flared upwardly and outwardly and also due to the shape of the heater as a whole and the shape of the opening IE a slight venturi effect is believed to be created which contributes to ecient operation of the heater, Also the tendency of the flame to irnpinge upon the inner surface of the side wall of the receptacle 2 is minimized, which contributes to the long life of the heater.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An orchard or like heater comprising a heater body adapted to contain fuel to be ig- /f 2,98,168 ./f/nited, the body` having an opening at the top surrounded by a rim, a cover pivoted to the body eccentrically thereof about an axis generally normal to the cover and also movable parallel to said axis, the cover having a downward generally peripheral rim adapted when the cover is disposed concentrically with respect to the body to have its lower extremity disposed at least as low as substantially in the plane of the upper surface of the body rim, the cover being movable from such position both axially of said axis and rotatably about said axis to a position in which the cover rim rests upon the body rim, thereby providing a passage between the body rim and the cover through which air is adapted to flow during operation of the heater.

2. An orchard or like heater comprising a heater body adapted to contain fuel to be ignited, the body having an opening at the top surrounded by a generally upwardly extending rim portion, a cover pivoted to the body eccentrically thereof about an axis generally normal to the cover, the cover being freely movable relatively to the body substantially rectilinearly along said axis and being movable about said axis between closed and open position, and a peripherally extending downward extension on the cover operable when the cover is in open position to engage the body rim at spaced points and space the cover therefrom at a portion of the body rim and thereby provide a passage between the body rim and the cover through which air is adapted to ow during operation of the heater.

CHARLES E. WALLIS. 

